Ahhh... I love playing hostess.

So a little something you should know about me is that I love hosting.  And the last few weeks have given me not one, but two opportunities to cook and entertain for my family.  I love planning out the meals to fit the company and shopping for all their favorite snacks (I made sure Chad had some Diet Pepsi, etc).  I love sitting around playing games and chatting.  I love having company over.

Two weekends ago Jaycie's family and my parents came over to check out the show.  As you can imagine things were crazy... 10 people in our little bitty apartment.  It was so much fun though!  The highlights aside from the obvious- seeing family:

1) Pulled Pork Nachos with Fresh Salsa and avocados.

2) Spinning my nieces and nephews for literally hours on the merry-go-round across the street.  (I'm apparently too old for it.  After a few times of jumping on, I thought I was going to lose my pulled pork nachos all over the gravel.  But the kids never did get sick of it and I never did get sick of watching their faces when we got it spinning really fast.)

3) Lots and lots of playing games as a family (especially the 4+ player games that Nate and I never get to play) AND me kicking butt in Sharp Shooters!  Woot!  Woot!

Then this weekend Clem and Rita came to visit from Roseburg.  It was so nice to see them and we even got to keep them an extra day thanks to a fortunate... I mean... unfortunate flat tire.  (Fortunate that they stayed longer, not so fortunate that they had to repair the tire.)  The highlights:

1) Dinner at El Erradero... yummy flautas!  (Thanks for taking us out, Clem and Rita.) And "Bird's Envy" bread from the local bakery.... (Again thank you, Clem and Rita!)

2) Getting to come home and relax/talk on our comfy sofa after spending 4 hour sitting on hard chairs at Stake Conference.

3)  Getting one extra day to cook for someone other than Nate, the extra time to play even more games, AND me kicking butt in Blockus!  Woot! Woot!

I just wanted to thank everyone for all their support, even those who weren't able to make it, but that were here in spirit.  (Your phone calls meant a lot!)  And these pictures are for you.

Most importantly I want to thank Nate.  Cheesy, I know, but I couldn't have done this without him and his support.  Trust me, there were so many times where I was ready to giving up... so many times where I wanted to quit school... so many times where I just knew I couldn't do it... so many times I felt there was no light at the end of the tunnel.  And yet, here I am a month away from graduation and I couldn't have done any of this without Nate.  He was the only thing keeping me going.  He believed in me and my work, even when I didn't.  And he spent countless hours (and dollars) helping me mount my photos for the big show.  Thanks for everything, babe!

Here are some pictures of my show.

The opening reception:

Nate and I.  (We both look way scary!)

I hate these pictures, but they're the only ones we took. 

Again, not very flattering.

Tim Laurence, Erin Voss, Jessie Street, me and Jessie's uterus pillow

 Gallery shots:

"Warning No.1"

"Undecided", "Uncertain", and "Fastened"

"Larsen Elementary", "Undecided", and "Uncertain"

"Scattered", and "Certain"

"Never Once Considering", "Curtseying While You're Falling Through the Air", and "Shedding Gallons of Tears"

Group member Erin Voss' work in bronze. 

Group member Tim Laurence's work in acrylic and oil paint.

Group member Jessie Street's work in mixed media.

My photographs and film.

"Fastened"

"Warning No.1", "Larsen Elementary", "Undecided", and "Uncertain"

and Erin Voss' bronze sculptures

From Clem and Rita's visit:

Rita, me and Clem

Nate and I.